Anything wll be heplful. Please and thank you!!
2006-09-26 07:47:16 · 27 answers · asked by Nicole 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
Spare time???!!!
Well, mending children's clothes, knitting, reading a chapter of the Bible at bedtime, writing a letter, are things that would have been things they could do sitting down, which probably didn't happen very often during the day.
2006-09-26 07:49:39 · answer #1 · answered by lottyjoy 6 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Society did not accept single mothers in that time. Unless you worked in a whorehouse(bad bad evil bad in that day) you didn't have sex at all unless you were married. If you slipped up and did with your boyfriend and got pregnant, shotgun wedding. The only way that you could be single, was if your husband died. And then they usually had to take in sewing or laundry to make ends meet just until they found a guy to marry them and take care of them. That's just the way it was them. Unmarried mothers faced public ridicule, being kicked out of the church, or even town! Read "The Scarlett Letter" It is a little earlier than this but the rules still applied. Chicks husband goes away to fight, while he's gone she gets knoked up anf has a baby. She is made to wear a red A (for adultry) on her clothes, and she and her child are sent to live in a shack on the edge of the town. Try going to wikipedia.com to get more info.
2006-09-26 08:01:42 · answer #2 · answered by glitz_and_glitter 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There were very few unmarried mothers in the 1800. They were usually what would be called "loose women," and were thus socially undesirable. They may have become prostitutes to support their children.
Some were what would be termed "kept women," the mistresses of wealthy men. Again these women would not be very prominent in "polite society." However, they would not have to work hard and would likely spend their time in genteel habits such as water colors, needlepoint, and playing the pianoforte.
Then there were the widows of poor men. If their husbands left them with any type of livelihood so much the better, but they likely stayed very busy with cooking, cleaning, mending, childcare, and church on Sunday. Any pastimes were probably limited to sewing or knitting and Bible reading. If the widow of a poor man were left with no livelihood she would have to seek work as a domestic servant or by taking in laundry and mending. If she had a decent education and relatively few children she might be lucky enough to become a governess or tutor. Safe and honest work was very hard for women to find. In the late 1800s, there were factories and textile mills in the cities to work in. However, the hours were long and many times the work unsafe.
The widow of a wealthy man would see to the running of her home, the management of servants, and the education of her children. She might, in the absence of a husband, be involved in church or charitable duties, as well as teas and social funtions. She also might participate in genteel pastimes such as needlepoint, pianoforte, watercolors, bridge and other card games, and reading poetry or the Bible. Wealthy widows were also highly likely marry again.
2006-09-26 08:19:07 · answer #3 · answered by Pippy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1) There weren't many single mothers in the mid 1800s.
2) There wasn't much spare time for woment then. If they were single mothers they had to work 8-10 hours a day then go home to cook (from scratch), clean (with a rag and a brush), and take care of the kids.
2006-09-26 07:49:10 · answer #4 · answered by camus0281 3 · 8⤊ 0⤋
Single mother in the mid 1800's!
Well... If you think a single mother was able to have spare time, takin into account that most of them would have been poor (girls of a good social position usually wouldn't dream about getting pregnant without being married), I think that they might have spent their time looking for a husband...
2006-09-26 07:53:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
There weren't any single mothers, unless they were widows. Back then there were shotgun weddings and adoption. You went away to visit relatives and came back empty handed.
They had no spare time. Wood had to be cut and burned in order to heat water and cook food. The water had to be drawn from the well and brought into the house. Things were very hard back then. I'm glad I wasn't around for it.
2006-09-26 07:56:25 · answer #6 · answered by Lola 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nicole i dont think there were many single moms back then..they all got married at an early age..if they were single then they were widows..i doubt they had much spare time..doing there sewing making breads and meals..sewing clothes and keeping the house tidy...laundry and church and raising her children plus doing her husbands work..i think sleep would be her spare time ..perhaps a book before she fell asleep
2006-09-26 08:21:50 · answer #7 · answered by little_outlaw_angel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
THERE IS ONE SINGLE FATHER FOR EVERY SIX SINGLE MOTHERS COMPARED WITH 1 IN 10 IN ... ALTHOUGH IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE MID-1800'S SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITH.
Man may work from sun to sun, but woman's work is never done! If there was spare time for women, it may have been used for reading, thinking, dreaming, resting, or bathing/grooming.
2006-09-26 07:59:44 · answer #8 · answered by Pey 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh yeah, like they had any spare time! At the end of the day, after all the kiddies were in bed, they may have knitted, needlepointed, tuck-pointed, mending clothing, or something along that nature, or go to church events to try to meet asomeone to marry.
2006-09-26 07:57:51 · answer #9 · answered by Survivors Ready? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont think there were that many single mothers, unless thier spouse had passed away. Plus I dont think they had much spare time. Cooking, cleaning, and sewing, plus taking care of their kids took up most of their time.
2006-09-26 07:53:19 · answer #10 · answered by friend 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋